The Object Complexity Model for Hidden-Surface Removal

We define a new model of complexity, called object complexity, for measuring the performance of hidden-surface removal algorithms. This model is more appropriate for predicting the performance of these algorithms on current graphics rendering systems than the standard measure of scene complexity used in computational geometry. We also consider the problem of determining the set of visible windows in scenes consisting of n axis-parallel windows in R 3 . We present an algorithm that runs in optimal \Theta(n log n) time. The algorithm solves in the object complexity model the same problem that Bern 3 addressed in the scene complexity model. Keywords: Object complexity, hidden-surface removal, window visibility, segment tree, computational geometry, computer graphics. This work was done when the author was at Duke University. Support was provided by Army Research Office grant DAAH04--93--G--0076. y This author is affiliated with Brown University. Support was provided in part by ..